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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847209">Threats</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrustDivineChaos/pseuds/TrustDivineChaos'>TrustDivineChaos</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Penny Dreadful: City of Angels (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Canon Divergence, Gen, M/M, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-05 05:22:26</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,257</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25847209</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrustDivineChaos/pseuds/TrustDivineChaos</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Rico’s not sure who he can trust anymore.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Fly Rico/Mateo Vega, FlyVega</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>13</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Threats</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Rico was waiting for him and was pleased to see Mateo’s smile faulter as he entered the room. </p><p>“Hey, Fly,” Mateo said, regaining his composure. “What’re you doing here?” </p><p>“Here at The Cat? Should I be somewhere else?” Rico leaned against the edge of the stage calmly, his hands clasped loosely in his lap. It was a little after dawn, so The Cat was closed, but this was his club. It was more like home to him than his own apartment.</p><p>“I - I didn’t mean it like that,” Mateo stuttered, “It’s just so early. I thought you’d be in bed.”</p><p>“In bed with a warm body curled up next to mine. That’d be nice,” Rico mused. “Where did you sleep last night, Mateo?”</p><p>“I-I didn’t. I went with Javi to find Carlos. He was at home, sick, so we brought some girls and drinks to cheer him up.”</p><p>“Que pensativo. Must have been quite the party if you’re only getting back now.”</p><p>“Yeah,” Mateo laughed nervously, “It was great.”</p><p>Rico pushed up off the stage. “Funny,” he said, slowly closing the distance between them, “I saw Javi earlier and he said Carlos wasn’t up for it. He said the girls got bored and left.” They were barely an arm’s length apart now and Rico caught Mateo’s unsteady gaze in his own. “He also said you ran into Rio on your way out and that you left with her instead of coming back here with him.”</p><p>“Rico, I – she – I'm – ” Rico held up a hand to stop Mateo’s pathetic scrambling to try to explain away his lie. </p><p>“I’m not possessive, Mateo. I enjoy sharing my home and my bed with good people, but good people can betray you just as easily as the bad ones. It only hurts more when they do.” </p><p>As the dancing had wound down late last night, Rico had asked around after Mateo. Javi’d mentioned seeing him leave with Rio. Rico'd assumed they would go back to his apartment and was amused by the thought. He’d left The Cat with a smile on his lips, expecting to join the lovers once he got home or at least enjoy the sounds of their pleasure while he waited for them to finish. But it wasn’t sounds of love-making that he heard when he entered the apartment. They were in his bedroom, yes, but the conversation he heard through the door had nothing to do with sex. He wasn’t sure what had made him hesitate before opening the door. Whether it was a certain word, the tone of their voices, or instinct alone, Rico had paused and ended up being grateful that he had. The conversation he’d overheard was illuminating, to say the least.</p><p>Rico grabbed Mateo’s jacket and pulled him close. “You want to be king, eh, papi?” He didn’t yell or raise his voice. Even in whisper, the threat behind his words would be plain. “You think you have what it takes to kill me?”</p><p>Mateo squirmed in his grip, shrinking beneath him. Nose to nose, Rico could see the tears welling up in Mateo’s eyes. “No, Rico, no. Please. I wouldn’t. It’s Rio. She – she tries to put these ideas in my head.”</p><p>Releasing his jacket, Rico gripped the back of Mateo’s head and pulled him back up again. “I know,” he cooed, smoothing down his purple lapels. “She’s very convincing.” Even Rico had had more than a few moments where he’d found himself doing something he didn’t agree with all because Rio had insisted upon it. The more it happened, the more concerned he grew about the influence she was having on him and the rest of the Pachucos. Hearing her talk with Mateo last night about making him their leader and getting Rico out of the picture one way or another had brought Rico clarity he’d been missing. As beautiful and seductive as she might be with her words and her body, Rio was a poison that would kill him if he didn’t get rid of it soon. He hadn’t had time yet to come up with a plan, but he would do whatever necessary to stop her before she could do any more damage. The only question was: would he have to do it alone?</p><p>He moved away from Mateo, though he did not turn his back on him. He didn’t think the kid would stoop so low as to stab him in the back – literally – but he wasn’t taking any chances. “If I asked you to follow me, would you?” </p><p>“Yes! Anywhere!” Rico hadn’t expected him to say no – he would have been stupid to do so – but Mateo wasn’t a very good liar and the relief in his voice tempted Rico to believe him. </p><p>“What do you want, Mateo?” Both he and Rio had been guiding – pulling – him through this Pachuco life. He worried sometimes that Mateo was losing himself in the process but hoped that that brave Chicano who’d stood up to Riley was still in there. “Why are you here?”</p><p>“I’m a Pachuco, like you,” Mateo replied, seeming confused by his questions. “I want to be like you.”</p><p>“Why?”</p><p>“Because I’m tired of being ashamed of myself and my people. I want to be proud of my skin and fight for all of us. To fight for the life we deserve.” If he wasn’t so inexperienced, Rico thought, Mateo <i>would</i> make a good leader, but now wasn’t the time for that. Now they had the bigger problem of chasing out the snake that’d made itself at home amongst them. On top of dealing with everything else going on in this God-forsaken city, Rico would have to take care of Rio before it was too late.</p><p>Rico sighed and finally turned his back on his friend, returning to the stage where he’d been lounging before. “Go. Get some sleep.” Rico flicked his hand towards the back stairs that led to his room above The Cat. It was usually used to house runaways or others that came looking for shelter and salvation with the Pachucos, but today it was empty. Today it could be theirs. </p><p>“Are you coming?” Mateo asked when he reached the bottom of the stairs.</p><p>“Soon.”</p><p>“Rico,” Mateo called out, waiting till the older Pachuco met his eyes again, “I’ll never hurt you.”</p><p>“You already have.” He’d waited until Mateo was out of sight before quietly saying these words out loud. Though Rico wanted to believe Mateo’s promise, though his chest tightened in hearing it, he hadn’t forgotten how Mateo had first lied to him about where he’d been last night. He hadn’t forgotten that quick flash of panic that had crossed his face when he’d first seen him this morning either. He wasn’t sure he could trust him, not anymore. But he’d keep him close and not just because of his attraction to him. If he was going to take down Rio, he’d need to keep tabs on their baby Pachuco to either get his help or, at least, keep him out of her hands until all was said and done. Until then he’d have to tread carefully and sleep with one eye open or else risk never opening them again. </p><p>He turned off the rest of the lights in the club and made his way upstairs after Mateo. As tired as he was, Rico didn’t think he’d get any sleep this morning, but having a warm body curled up next to his would be nice. He’d try to enjoy it while he still could.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>This work was inspired by the incredibly talented C0ffeebee, so my thanks to them for motivating me to write this. Check out their art here: https://c0ffeebee.tumblr.com/</p><p>Though I know I leave it open for more, with the potential of Rico plotting Rio’s end etc., I have no plans to write all that, so I'm marking this as completed. If you have ideas for how you wish Rico had beaten Rio, please let me know in the comments and we'll all enjoy that together.</p><p>As always, thanks for reading. Comments are always appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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